Pregnant students are sometimes discriminated against by their schools, either intentionally or unintentionally and there is a concerning lack of awareness about the resources and rights available to them. Due to a lack of services and discrimination, these women may...
News
Latest News
Rubio, Colleagues Reintroduce Intelligence Community Workforce Agility Protection Act
Currently, intelligence community civilians are subject to certain tax penalties for job-related relocation requirements, but active-duty military servicemembers are not subjected to the same penalties. These tax benefits, including the ability to deduct moving...
Rubio Delivers Remarks at Senate Intelligence Hearing
Vice Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Marco Rubio (R-FL) delivered opening remarks and questioned witnesses at a hearing on countering China’s influence in the United States. Watch Rubio’s opening remarks here as well as Part I and Part II of...
Rubio-led Resolution to Raise Awareness for Spinal Cord Injuries Passes Senate
Approximately 302,000 Americans live with spinal cord injuries. To help these people achieve a better quality of life, there is a need to increase education and invest in research. U.S. Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) successfully led a bipartisan...
Rubio, Warnock Reintroduce Protecting Sensitive Personal Data Act
Foreign investment is one of the legal means that adversaries, like China, can use to collect Americans’ data, exasperating both privacy and national security risks. To counter this, U.S. Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Raphael Warnock (D-GA) reintroduced the...
ICYMI: Rubio Joins Special Report
U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) joined Special Report with Bret Baier to discuss the impending government shutdown, the possibility of a Saudi-Israeli normalization deal, and the indictment of Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ). See below for highlights and watch the full...
Rubio, Van Hollen Introduce Legislation to Deter Foreign Interference in American Elections
Washington, D.C. –U.S. Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) today introduced the Defending Elections from Threats by Establishing Redlines (DETER) Act. It sends a powerful message to any foreign actor seeking to disrupt our elections: if you attack American candidates, campaigns, or voting infrastructure, you will face severe consequences.
We know Russia manipulated social media channels and hacked political campaign committees and local elections boards to undermine our democratic process in 2016. We expect the threat will grow in future years – and we must do everything possible to prevent these attacks. The DETER Act uses key national security tools to dissuade hostile foreign powers from meddling in our elections by ensuring that they know well in advance that the costs will outweigh the benefits.
“We cannot be a country where foreign intelligence agencies attempt to influence our political process without consequences,” said Senator Rubio. “This bill will help to ensure the integrity of our electoral process by using key national security tools to dissuade foreign powers from meddling in our elections.”
“Protecting the integrity of our elections is an issue that knows no party. And with the midterm elections less than a year away, we have no time to waste,” said Senator Van Hollen. “The DETER ACT sends an unequivocal message to Russia and any other foreign actor who may follow its example: if you attack us, the consequences will be severe.”
BACKGROUND
Reporting Requirements
· The Director of National Intelligence (DNI) must issue to Congress a determination on whether any foreign government has interfered in that election within one month after every federal election.
Actions That Will Elicit Retaliation
· A foreign government, or an agent acting on its behalf, cannot purchase advertisements to influence an election, including online ads.
· A foreign government, or an agent acting on its behalf, cannot use social and traditional media to spread significant amounts of false information to Americans.
· A foreign government, or an agent acting on its behalf, cannot hack and release or modify election and campaign infrastructure, including voter registration databases and campaign emails.
· A foreign government, or an agent acting on its behalf, cannot block or otherwise hinder access to elections infrastructure, such as websites providing information on polling locations.
Russia-Specific Sanctions
· If the DNI determines that the Kremlin has once again interfered in an American federal election, the bill mandates a set of severe sanctions that must be implement within ten days of the DNI’s determination.
· This includes sanctions on major sectors of the Russian economy, including finance, energy, defense, and metals and mining.
· Every senior Russian political figure or oligarch, identified in the report required by the Countering America’s Adversaries Act of 2017, will be blacklisted from entering the United States and will have their assets blocked.
· The Administration is also required to work with the European Union enlist their support in adopting a sanctions regime to broaden the impact.
Preparing for Other Potential Attacks
· The DNI has identified China, Iran, and North Korea as our other major foreign government cyber threats, and they may also seek to exploit American vulnerabilities in the next election cycle.
· The Administration should present Congress with a plan for preventing interference in our elections for each of these countries, and any other foreign state of significant concern.